WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 203: Demon Wings (4)

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"How laughable."

The Lord of Desolate Fortress slowly moved her lips.

"You do not even know your own downfall."

She reclined against the brown sheen of an ancient tree trunk as though it were a bed.

Her hair flowed from her neck down her back, resting like long blades of grass. Yet she did not look defenseless in the slightest, even though she lay in a posture that could hardly be called an opening stance.

A tranquil air surrounded her face as she turned her head slightly.

Her gaze seemed to invite silence.

Her green eyes remained fixed beyond the shoulders of the three Squad Leaders. A terrifying tension rose in an instant.

It felt as though pressure had seeped into the stillness. The air around them seemed to tighten.

'Downfall?'

Jeong Yeon-shin repeated the word inwardly.

His master had seemed like the most peaceful being in the martial world.

He had thought that, as an unrivaled master, her perspective would be no different from that of the World Tree. She seemed to survey all things beneath heaven.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress possessed an air that was both clear and lofty. It was hard to imagine her ever treating someone as an enemy.

It had been the same when she struck at the Blood Flame Sect Master and the Pure Demon Alliance Leader with her sword.

It had felt as though she was simply doing what had to be done, as if she walked alone in another world.

That was why the word downfall felt strange.

Had the Martial Alliance Assembly's envoy offended her? Or did she have a bitter history with the Ye Clan?

"I should question the Family Head."

Miss Ye muttered from behind and to the side of Jeong Yeon-shin. Merely protecting the children would not do.

Her voice was lower than usual. Even Miss Ye, who had always been outrageously self-centered, seemed tense at this moment. Naturally so.

"I pay my respects to the esteemed Lord of Desolate Fortress."

Rustle.

It was the sound of fabric brushing together.

Miss Ye had bowed toward the Lord of Desolate Fortress.

Her presence was light. With the movement unique to her Body Movement Scripture, she clasped her hands in salute.

Despite hearing the word downfall, she appeared calm. It was astonishing composure, considering she would find it difficult to escape death if the Lord struck.

"Thanks to my fine birth, I have heard many things. I wanted to see what you were thinking. I was very curious to see how you would keep the treasure you were fortunate enough, truly blessed by heaven, to take into your embrace."

Miss Ye spoke.

"......"

Sunlight settled in the Lord of Desolate Fortress's eyes. Light falling through the window seeped into them with the radiance of leaves.

Was she seeing through the Martial Alliance Assembly envoy's true intentions? Jeong Yeon-shin could feel it through his aura sense. Her eyes contained an overwhelming abyss.

Under the gaze of one from a noble clan, the air itself seemed to turn transparent.

She moved her lips.

"Speak further."

"If I die to your strike now, it means there is wickedness within me. If I leave here alive, it means this heart is sincere. Your eyes are especially famous among our people. They say you see through people and time."

"You judge me."

"Having witnessed it myself, I know it is true. If you see no way for this body to aid the treasure in your possession, my life will end here. If I survive, I will be able to watch you."

"You are bold. Do you mean to make these eyes your mirror?"

"To me, that proof is worth as much as my life."

Miss Ye's words were refined. A dignity belonging to a prestigious family, unlike anything she had shown before, could be felt in her speech and conduct.

Her smooth voice no longer sounded as light as before. Jeong Yeon-shin was slightly surprised as he listened.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress tilted her head slightly.

"I sense the remnants of your adoptive father in that hand. What happened?"

"He is gone from this world. He will never lay a hand on my treasure again."

"I order you not to call it yours."

"It is not yours either."

Miss Ye's voice ended abruptly. After answering as though in defiance, she fell silent.

Those were not words one should say to an unrivaled master closest to being the strongest under heaven. Silence spread like ice.

'What is this?'

The exchange stirred suspicion in Jeong Yeon-shin.

Miss Ye's speech and conduct had seemed familiar to him for some time.

Though her voice and appearance were different, something about her came to mind.

A possibility had naturally occurred to him, but it was so absurd that he had dismissed it.

The Seventh Apostle of the Blood Flame Sect was the Internal Chief Strategist of the Martial Alliance Assembly? How could someone hide their nature and even evade the Sword Star's eyes?

Even Jeong Yeon-shin, who possessed the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel, had sensed nothing. It had been the same when their hands touched.

'Surely not.'

Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes narrowed.

"I destroyed with this hand the one who showed me kindness. Now, only one meaning remains in my life. I... I want to survive here. I want my desire to refine the precious gem to be pure."

Miss Ye's voice brushed against the air. It was not filled with confidence as it usually was. A certain longing and wish could be heard within it.

She sounded serene, as if she had laid her neck beneath an executioner's blade. Just hearing her, Jeong Yeon-shin could picture her expression, her lips pressed into a thin line.

At the same time, a girl's voice boiling with qi rang out.

"Listening to you, you are awfully presumptuous."

Slash.

A terrifying force wave tore through the air. Silver light scattered around them and brushed the sunlight pouring through the window.

In the brief moment Jeong Yeon-shin turned around, a spearhead rested against Miss Ye's neck.

Desolate Divine Spear Ak Su-rim had made her move. The force she released a moment later sent both women's hair fluttering.

"Do not be disrespectful."

Ak Su-rim continued, holding the long spear in one hand. As the Divine Sword Squad Deputy Leader, the keen menace emanating from her weapon was formidable.

The pure white spear light shone as though it had compressed the sunlight itself.

Displaying a blade before the Lord of Desolate Fortress was not disrespectful. Unlike an ordinary ruler, no weapon could pose any threat to her.

It was an old custom. The discretion granted to Black Uniform masters was that broad. Their rank allowed them to judge the situation themselves and wield their weapons.

"Your manner of speech is vulgar. Just what one would expect from a creature living beneath our clan."

Xiahou Wi-jin, Squad Leader of the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad, stood behind Miss Ye.

One of his enormous fists was slightly raised, as though he might crush her head at any moment.

Colorless aura leaked through his fingers in warning. Only because the Lord had answered her had they not executed her immediately.

It was a scene that displayed the power of Desolate Fortress.

Even Jeong Yeon-shin would find it difficult to survive in that position.

If he traded places with Miss Ye, he would have to prepare for death. There were three Black Uniform masters, along with the Lord of Desolate Fortress.

It would not be an exaggeration to call it the most dangerous place under heaven. Ak Su-rim's goodwill whenever she called him Seom-ye suddenly felt far from trivial.

Step.

Jegal Cheong-a, who had been behind him, took a small step toward Jeong Yeon-shin. She seemed frightened by the situation before them.

He could understand. Even Jeong Yeon-shin had not anticipated this.

Then the Lord of Desolate Fortress spoke.

"You overestimate my eyes. The Nirvana Sword is light. It is often wielded according to my feelings, so you must prove your worth."

"I will do anything. So long as I can remain at someone's side, anything."

Miss Ye answered.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress's crystalline voice immediately replied.

"Endure in the main fortress. You must not harm anyone. Your treatment will be decided later."

It meant she would not execute her immediately.

"The me reflected in your eyes."

Miss Ye parted her lips, lifting the corners of her mouth.

"At least to me and your treasure, I am not a wicked being, am I? For now, that is enough. I am very, very happy. To think I would feel joy because of you."

"I told you not to be presumptuous."

Ak Su-rim frowned as she spoke. She still gripped the spear shaft, and the force wave gathered on its blade drew blood at the back of Miss Ye's neck.

It was a method different from the new Leader of Demon Wings' full-body Force Projection. Qi rising alongside her will had sharpened its own edge.

It was a sight that demonstrated the realm of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

Miss Ye paid it no mind. Even as white and red contrasted beneath her slender chin, she said what needed to be said.

Her tone was exceedingly gentle.

"I learned two things. How short-handed Desolate Fortress is in the current state of affairs, and how dearly you treasure what you hold in your arms. My heart is both at ease and uneasy, but I suppose I must be satisfied with this for now."

She smiled faintly.

"I can only be grateful that you have shown me consideration. I will restrain myself while I remain here."

"Take her down with the Jegal family's child."

The Lord of Desolate Fortress gave the order with an expressionless face. It decided the treatment of the Martial Alliance Assembly envoys. She meant to admit them into Desolate Fortress.

Ak Su-rim's spear traced a splendid arc as it withdrew.

"You, try not to draw attention to yourself if you can help it."

She spoke as though spitting the words out.

Miss Ye smiled silently, glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin, and turned away.

The end of the blindfold that fell with her ebony hair fluttered white. The more he watched, the more her familiar conduct caught his eye.

'Surely not?'

A thread of suspicion sprouted in the new Leader of Demon Wings' heart.

Tug.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly felt pressure on his sleeve. A small hand pulled it. When he turned, he saw Jegal Cheong-a.

The girl, who had unknowingly been clutching the Leader of Demon Wings' sleeve, anxiously parted her lips.

The meeting with the Lord of Desolate Fortress was about to end without her having said a word.

"I pay my respects to the Lord of Desolate Fortress! This girl is Cheong-a of the Jegal Family. Please allow me to become a guest martial artist of Demon Wings...!"

"I permit it."

Jegal Cheong-a's expression brightened, and she followed Miss Ye down.

Startled by her own action, she released Jeong Yeon-shin's sleeve. It seemed she intended to wait below.

That was all it took, a short answer. It showed the Lord of Desolate Fortress's influence.

A single word from the Lord stood above the laws of Desolate Fortress.

Her word was upheld by absolute trust. The discerning eyes of the Lord of Desolate Fortress made that clear.

At her word, all deliberation and procedure in the main fortress became meaningless. It seemed to be a fact well known even to the Martial Alliance Assembly.

"She certainly has a wild temperament."

Xiahou Wi-jin muttered.

Only then was the ground cleared for the Lord and the Black Uniform masters.

Ak Su-rim and Xiahou Wi-jin did not ask about what had just happened. It was the attitude of Desolate Fortress's supreme masters.

If the Lord wished to give instructions, she would tell them first. Otherwise, as subordinates, they would not pry.

Jeong Yeon-shin decided to set aside his doubts here as well.

The new Leader of Demon Wings finally approached the Lord of Desolate Fortress.

Rustle.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly knelt on his left knee, alongside his two seniors.

He placed one knee on the ground and raised a clasped-hands salute. It was the etiquette Desolate Fortress martial artists used only before the Lord.

"Divine Sword Squad Deputy Leader Ak Su-rim reports to the Lord. Together with the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad Leader, I escorted the Leader of Demon Wings to the main fortress. Three members of the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad sustained light injuries, but there were no deaths."

"This Heaven-Treading Forest Squad Leader pays respects to the Lord. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred."

The two Squad Leaders spoke.

Desolate Fortress was, in essence, a martial faction positioned between the government and the martial world. It possessed the nature of both the military and the martial world.

Though laws existed as they did in the army, there was no fixed format for reports upon returning.

One could tell just by the words the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad Leader had spoken in his usual manner.

That was likely the utmost courtesy Xiahou Wi-jin could offer.

Jeong Yeon-shin, on the other hand, found Ak Su-rim's official bearing unfamiliar. Her short black hair and black robe hung loose as she urged him on with her eyes.

If she became the next Divine Sword Squad Leader, perhaps the Divine Sword Squad's atmosphere would become more spirited as well.

'Senior Ak will be the strongest competitor.'

Thinking that, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.

"...The Leader of Demon Wings reports his return. I have returned victorious from the Martial Alliance Assembly's grand founding ceremony. White Qilin Namgung Hwa-shin and two others, who had been drafted from the Swift Heaven Wing Squad as guest martial artists, have also returned safely."

"You may raise your head."

The sunlight shining directly before him was dazzling. A voice dappled by the sun brushed against his ears.

"Leader of Demon Wings, look into my eyes."

At last, Jeong Yeon-shin faced the Lord's pale face.

She slowly raised her upper body. Her legs, which had been stretched out, drew inward as well.

The pale green robe, broad as a court dress, brushed softly against the bark. She sat cross-legged.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress slowly parted her lips.

"You have rendered achievements worthy of commendation. You may choose a reward."

Jeong Yeon-shin was silent for a moment. Her face and the shape of her lips were no longer unfamiliar to him, yet he still found himself cautious.

Even without forcing him, she made him mind his own speech and conduct.

Her features and presence, as though she had descended from beyond the human world, created that atmosphere.

Yet he had to say what needed to be said. That was what he had learned from the Imperial Hero and the Languid Flame Dragon. It was also the lesson he had received from Jegal Hyeon and Jegal Cheong-a.

The new Leader of Demon Wings slowly opened his mouth as he stared at the Lord of Desolate Fortress.

"I do not want to choose. Could you give me everything instead?"

"...!"

Ak Su-rim silently moved her lips. Her mouth formed the words, Are you crazy?

Xiahou Wi-jin turned toward his new junior with widened eyes.

Jeong Yeon-shin, however, remained bold.

With a small gesture, he took a book from within his robes. In the stillness, only the sound of paper brushing against black fabric echoed.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress's gaze passed over the words Comprehensive Guide to Breaking the Orthodox Sects for only a moment.

Then, she smiled faintly.

Footnotes:

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